18 



the Association. Those societies which contribute more than 500 kroner 

 can elect one representative for each 500 kroner contributed. 



Branch In addition to the main Institution at Svalof , the Association has two 



Branches, one for Central Sweden at Ultuna, north of Stockholm, which 

 works in co-operation with the Agricultural College located at that place, 

 and one for the far Xorth at Lulea where the work is executed in co-opera- 

 tion with the Institution for Chemistry and Plant Biology. The need for 

 more branch stations has long been felt and it is expected that the present 

 number will be augmented in the near future. 



The revenue of the Association is derived from membership fees, govern- 

 ment grants, county grants, contributions from the Agricultural Societies, 

 fees from the Swedish Seed Company on account of stock seed sold the said 

 company and for the inspection and control by the Association of the com- 

 mercial product. In addition to the above the Association occasionally 

 receives substantial donations from private parties, companies and Asso- 

 ciations which are interested in the work. 



E er' tal ^ e Association possesses at Svalof about 16 hectares (39 acres) of land 

 Grounds. on which are established its buildings, residences and outhouses. The addi- 

 tional land which may be required for experimental purposes is leased from 

 the General Swedish Seed Company, which owns about 3,000 acres adjoining 

 the Association's grounds. 



HI. THE SYSTEM OF PLANT IMPROVEMENT AT SVALOF AND ITS 



DEVELOPMENT. 



The Method first Employed 



When the Association at Svalof first began its work of plant improve- 

 ment it adopted the system commonly followed in Europe at that time. 

 This was known as the System of continuous or systematic selection, the aim of 

 which was, by selection from } r ear to year, to shift the type in its entirety in 

 a certain desired direction. This principle assumed the omnipresence of 

 hereditary variations and, in accordance with the Darwinian idea, it was 

 believed that permanent and substantial improvement might be effected by 

 selecting plants which varied in the direction wished for. In other words, 

 it was thought that continuous selection produced a cumulative or creative 

 effect. 



The above principle was usually applied in practice through what was 

 known as the system of " Mass Selection." By this system, a selection of 

 seed was made from a large number of plants and the whole thrown together 

 and sown "en masse" in a single plot. 



When a sort, by reason of the results of careful testing or for other 

 causes, was chosen for improvement there were taken from the threshed 

 sample from 1,000 to 2,000 kernels for planting in a special plot. The "grad- 

 ing machine " (consisting of a series of sieves) made a discrimination in the 

 size of the kernel, while the " Diaphanoskop " was sometimes used in judging 



